The Mind of Masters
by writers-block-Bgone
Summary: A series of one-shots and short stories featuring the worlds biggest ol' bag a fruit loops, Vlad Masters. Ranges from drama, to thought, to head-cannon. Current installments, "Why His Friends?" and "The Birth of Phantom" Parts 1 & 2.
1. Why His Friends?

"Why his friends?"

Vlad hadn't been pondering much as he rested in the Fenton's basement-turned hospital. He was suffering from ecto-acne, and had inflicted the same curse upon the friends of young Daniel. Sure, he could have just gone to Madeline and she would have helped with no objections. Daniel might have protested; but his parents surely would not allow him to intervene with Vlad's well-being. So, why had Vlad resulted to inflicting the same danger on Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley?

There was no denying it; Vlad had given two fourteen year old's a potentially fatal disease as motivation for Daniel to find a cure. Why would he do such a thing? It was basically an attempt at murder…Why did he not entrust his life to Daniel? The boy would not have let Vlad die; they were both still human, after all. Danny would have allowed Vlad to be saved despite their animosity towards each other, no doubt about it. Maybe the boy would object to it initially before offering a hand, he had when Vlad confronted them at the Nasty Burger.

That was a good enough excuse.

Vlad reasoned that he couldn't risk Daniel's hesitation…and the boy would certainly not hesitate if his friend's lives' were on the line. Problem was, deep in his mind, Vlad knew Daniel never needed motivation. Vlad never had to threaten the lives of the boy's dearest friends just to ensure either life or the last laugh. So then, why? The answer was not one Vlad would even admit to himself. If Vlad were to have been in Daniel's position, with his enemy approaching him for help and mercy, he would have laughed and gladly watched that enemy suffer until death. Such an atrocity would never have even graced Daniel's mind.

If Vlad hadn't sickened Daniel's friends, the boy would have proven himself the better person, even if just to Vlad. By making the boy's friends sick, Vlad made sure there was no generosity. He made Daniel's actions self-beneficial. Somewhere deep in Vlad's mind, he could not allow Daniel to demonstrate mercy towards him. No way. Vlad was always the superior, the puppet master, the strongest, smartest, fastest, most experienced…He would not be outdone by a half-grown little rat like Daniel. Most of all, beaten in a test of mercy. Impossible.

Daniel couldn't be better than Vlad. At least the boy never proved he was, and Vlad intended for it to remain that way.

...

A/N  
>I really like this one. I'm starting to think I have a time-share in Vlad's head, with as much time as I've been spending there lately. Wrote this one a while ago. I could swear I published it...I was actually quite confused for a while, because I didn't have it written in a document, then I thought I must have dreamed it, but no! Just in a stack of digital notes on my computer. Go-figure.<p> 


	2. The Birth of Phantom 1

(Part 1 of 2)

The Birth of Phantom.

Part 1: Grudges.

It's hard to discourage a scientific mind. No one knew this more than young Vladimir Masters. For Maddie, he chalked it up to her confidence, individuality, and brilliant mind. For Jack? Eh, it was stupidity. He just lacked the brain capacity to realize when his pursuits were doomed to fail. This is what Vlad had thought; but his perception of Jack as a harmless fool changed and solidified during the construction of their first prototype ghost portal.

The paranormal world was a place mankind was not meant to explore, Vlad had thought, but when Maddie turned her attention to it he jumped on board. He had his doubts, but they were getting results; even some pretty definitive proof that there was at least _something _to all their efforts.

Then the pivotal moment, when the prototype-portal was ready. Jack did something stupid, he must have, because the portal malfunctioned in a way they couldn't have accounted for. A direct ectoplasmic blast to his well-structured face then his skin, his college career, everything that mattered to him had been taken away. He spent multiple years in the hospital suffering with the distortion to his body that Jack so hastily named, "ecto-acne."

During this time Jack and Maddie got engaged and married, Vlad had been recovering in the very hospital where Maddie first brought life into the world…Jasmine, a beautiful name for a beautiful baby girl. She seemed to take from her mother's side, though not quite from her mother directly. Then they moved to Amity Park, where Vlad never even bothered to see their second-born child, Daniel. A warped twist in his mind said, 'Jazz is Maddie's daughter; but Daniel is Jack's son.' He once received a Christmas card of the young family that only furthered this deep distinction. The boy did take after his fathers side, but like Jasmine, not his father directly. Lucky for the tiny tike, Vlad supposed.

So then, Vlad continued to check on the Fenton's on occasion. He was aware they continued trying to create a portal and found such a pursuit to be beyond their capabilities. Then when he learned of their repeated breakthroughs and eventual plans for a fully functional portal he felt…surprisingly insulted.

Of course, Vlad hadn't spoken with them in years and much of their progress in paranormal science went under his nose…sabotage would not have been below his ethic standards if he was aware they had gotten so far. No, his issue was that Jack Fenton had cursed him with the portal they created _together_. It made Vlad question, had they forgotten how much he suffered? Had they even forgotten him? Had Jack forgotten what he did? How dangerous it was? These questions filled him with anxiety as the portal neared its completion. Ghosts and paranormal research, they were...they were _his thing_. Jack had cursed him with powers, robbed him of Maddie, his young years, and now…they would dare to pursue the next great leap in paranormal science without him? He was the epitome of the paranormal! He was the breakthrough, their discoveries meant nothing compared to him!

What's worse, they had the children; both as much Jack's as Maddie's, but still. The thought occurred to Vlad that something could happen to them. It would be morally wrong to allow Jack and Maddie to activate such a dangerous machine within the walls of their own home with the children so near.

Yes, it would be morally wrong…and that is why Vlad allowed himself to spy on the Fenton's and their progress extensively. He gave himself to all their notes, blueprints, looked into their grants, their journals, everything. For the sake of Madeline…and her children. He was going to crush their dreams of creating a portal. He was going to wait until everything was perfect, every last piece put into place…and then he was going to take it all away.

* * *

><p>What is it with me and my fascination with Vlad's twisted psyche? The narrator went a bit Gollum on this one...<p>

Part two in a couple days! I've got a few papers due this and next week, so I'm a little stretched for writing time. :)


	3. The Birth of Phantom 2

The Birth of Phantom. 2/2.

Part 2: Solutions.

The one question on Vlad's mind was, 'how do I go about stopping the portal's completion?' for he realized the key was not in destroying the portal, but the Fenton's drive to build it. If he broke it, if he tampered with it in some obvious way, they would only come back for another try…No, he had to make it their failure and their fault. He scavenged their blueprints, racking his brain for some subtle way he could guarantee the portal would fail. The answer came in what Vlad first considered to be the most idiotic feature ever present in the history of man's technological advances (cave-men wielding club's for the very first time included.)

Jack had placed an on-and-off switch…on the inside of the portal.

How stupid was that? Stupid with an,'oo' and not a 'u'? Likely. (If that is not the worst literary pun…) Really though, it was laughable. That is, until he delved into the actual purpose of the switch. It did not actually turn the portal on and off, you see. Rather, it worked to slide in and out of place a lens. This lens, at three inches in circumference, was set in the innards of the portal to magnify the energy triggering the portal's start up. It was like the safety on a gun, when the switch was turned 'off,' the lens was out of place and the portal would not activate under any circumstance. When the switch was set to the 'on' position, the lens was slid into place and the portal could be plugged in and activated. Plugging it in was the actual method of turning the it on and off.

It prevented unwanted activation of the portal and was just outrageous enough to discourage anyone from tampering with it. It was simplistic, outwardly stupid, and poorly labeled, but it did make sense.

So, Vlad had found his sabotage. Jack would flip the switch to the 'on' position and position himself to plug the portal in. Just before he would have the chance, Vlad would slip in invisibly, flip the switch 'off' and the portal would fail. It was fool proof, and it was done.

The one thing Vlad failed to prepare for was the look of pure devastation on dear Madeline's beautiful face when the portal sparked and died before her very eyes. She was crushed…they both were. It was expressed even as they walked out of the basement, looking exhausted and broken. But whatever. The portal failed and that's what Vlad had set out to do. They wouldn't be trying that again any time soon. Still, it wasn't long before Vlad made up excuses for himself. He figured, 'Maybe they'll drop out of the paranormal sciences entirely. Yes, then Maddie can move on. With her brilliant mind, who knows what she could accomplish? That is, if she didn't have the fat-man dragging her down…' That was when a small thought manifested a scar on Vlad's heart, 'Madeline would be better off without him…and even more so if she were with me.'

With that thought, Vlad's anger towards Jack intensified. The injustices against him felt fresh and of greater proportion. He hated Jack. He loved Maddie. He had gotten between them and their work, what was the difference if he got between _them?_ And the children; it would be no different to come between Jack and his children either. Vlad was destroying their professional dreams, why not their marriage? It was the same, he could do it, he had done it already…

Imagine his shock…

"Paranormal scientists Jack and Maddie Fenton, located in Amity Park, made a major advance in paranormal research yesterday with the activation of a device they claim serves as an inter-dimensional ghost-portal."

Fool proof, huh?

* * *

><p>AN

Looks like someone forgot to unplug the portal…and Danny happened to stumble inside. :) I also like digging into why Vlad waited twenty some-odd years before coming after Jack. I'd say the portal pushed him over the edge and opened a lot of old wounds...

I think I've come to embrace Vlad's gradual mental breakdown…or maybe it's my own...*Dun Dun DUH!* R&R!

-wbBg


End file.
